Auction sellers typically value the relative anonymity of the auction process, in part because of the old perception of auctions as a method of last resort. But shortly after Allsop’s December commercial sale, an Israeli company proudly put its hand up as the vendor behind the largest lot sold by Allsop on a digital auction contract to date.
Founded in 2005 and listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange four years later, Decama Capital is an international, cross-sector investment company with property investments in Israel, the UK and Hungary.
The decision to sell its holding in Ruislip Manor, Middlesex, through auction was taken to support its expansion into the renewable energy sector, says chief executive Nate Lorenzi (pictured).
The freehold parade of 14 shops and 18 flats totalling 22,440 sq ft on a 0.83-acre site next to Ruislip Manor Underground Station currently produces almost £480,000 per annum with one flat vacant. Decama had obtained planning permission for a third-floor extension to provide a further nine flats and the site offers potential for further redevelopment on Victoria Road and to the rear of the building. Tapping into strong demand for mixed-use lots in Greater London, it was guided at £8m and sold prior for £10.5m – a 4.5% yield.
“While we continue to look to grow our property portfolio and identify properties that we can add value to, the sale completion of the Ruislip Manor lot comes at a time where, as a company, we are looking to expand into new areas and explore new investment opportunities, particularly in the renewable energy sector,” Lorenzi explains.
Property holdings include
- Milton Keynes – a newly fully refurbished office building and warehouse totalling 40,000 sq ft
- Budapest – 221,000 sq m of land for residential and logistics in the 18th District of Budapest (the area in which Budapest’s international airport is located)
- Tel Aviv – partner in development of 56 apartments
- Market cap – 42.64m ILS (£9.3m)
Decama recently appointed professor Lior Elbaz, an expert in green energy and hydrogen technology, as the company’s chief development officer and has several investment opportunities in the pipeline. Elbaz is an Israeli chemical engineer and associate professor at Bar-Ilan University and a visiting scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico – renowned for its creation of the US atomic bomb – which conducts research on fuel cells.
“We are looking to technologies that assist clean energy production and energy storage, particularly those that are hydrogen-powered,” Lorenzi says. He sees property as an integral part of this. “The key to unlocking the future of the energy sector is diversification, both in regards to the production and storage of electricity. We are looking for technologies that will advance this change which will, in turn, grow the use of renewable energy sources and dramatically reduce electricity costs for landlords and tenants.”
He will continue to seek investment opportunities in the UK, as well as internationally.
Decama has used the UK auctions market in the past and is comfortable with the process. “Right now, the auction market is particularly strong. It is great to see that the market is making use of the digital tools available and the success of the online platform,” Lorenzi says.
“Prior to the auction, we saw substantial interest in the Ruislip Manor property from several potential buyers. This provided us with the confidence and assurance that the auction would attract significant interest.”
Selling prior meant Decama could capitalise on that interest and benefit from the certainty of an auction contract.
“We did consider going down the private treaty route, however after seeing the initial interest the property received and the advantages offered by an auction, our decision was made,” he says.
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